New deadlines, new woes for health bill

After a week of major setbacks on health reform, White House officials and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did their best to sound upbeat Sunday, with new deadlines looming to move bills out of key committees before the August recess.

White House senior adviser David Axelrod insisted most of the work is already done, with just 20 percent left to go. Pelosi said again Sunday that she has the votes to get a bill passed on the House floor. “This will happen,” she said firmly.

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But things look a lot different for some members and senators — some of whom said Sunday they don’t think a quick resolution in either chamber is guaranteed right now, no matter how much President Barack Obama wants it.

The most downbeat forecast came from Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), one of three Democrats and three Republicans negotiating the bill in the Senate Finance Committee. He couldn’t say for sure that the committee would vote on a bill before the Senate recess — despite assurances Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has given to the White House.

“We are going to finish when we’re finished,” Conrad said. “We are going to do everything we can to do it right. We are moving with dispatch. We meet hours every day. We have the best analysts in the country helping us. We will be ready when we’re ready.”

The diverging assessments show what a tough sell Obama-style health reform is proving to be for some in Congress — particularly among moderates and fiscal conservatives in Obama’s own party. Last week, Obama was still pushing for both the full House and Senate to move bills before going on summer vacation. Now, reform advocates are down to hoping for committee action in each house, and even that isn’t certain.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Finance Committee are the last to complete work on the health care bill — and neither committee appears close to done, most likely forcing Democratic leaders to decide sometime whether to let the process play out or yank a bill onto the floor for a vote in the House, as Pelosi has threatened to do.

White House aides hoped to give the negotiations a boost Sunday, saying they were open to taxing insurers that offer high-end plans, which could provide a breakthrough on how to finance the $1 trillion overhaul. Axelrod and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, however, offered few details about what level the taxes would kick in or how much money could be raised.

At the same time, the administration will face questions this week about a new Congressional Budget Office estimate that a controversial White House proposal to keep Medicare spending in check would save only about $2 billion over 10 years.

After a tumultuous day of negotiations Friday, the Energy and Commerce Committee is expected to resume its markup Monday. It remains unclear when the committee might finish, although Pelosi still appears intent on a pre-recess vote, possibly by keeping lawmakers in session for a few extra days.

“When I take this bill to the floor, it will win,” Pelosi said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union With John King.” “But we will move forward. This will happen.”